Mitch Lasky
Mitch Lasky
Mitch Lasky is a general partner at the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Benchmark and a former entrepreneur and video game executive...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBusinessman
CountryUnited States of America
environment steam store table taking valuable viewing
The distributor used to get 10, 12, 14 percent in most cases, but the App Store or Steam - they're taking 30 points. So clearly, they're viewing what they bring to the table in the digital environment to be more valuable than distribution.
believe benchmark building companies firm hand impact lasting value witnessed
I've witnessed first hand the impact the Benchmark team has had on new ventures, and I believe their commitment to the entrepreneur and dedication to building companies of lasting value really set the firm apart.
bothers gets hit suddenly ten versions watched
I've watched what happens when a game like 'DragonVale' gets to number one on iOS. Suddenly there's ten other versions of it that hit the store. As a gamer, that bothers me. I don't like those companies.
believe finds great talks
Everyone talks about discovery, but I really believe that great content finds its audience.
The ambitions for Thatgamecompany are very exciting to me.
business charge friction gets happens hump marketing people rid trying upfront
Free-to-play isn't a business model. Free-to-play is a marketing strategy. It's a way to get people over the hump of trying out your game. It gets rid of the friction that happens when you charge an upfront fee.
buy discovery download eight genie kids last mechanism throw
My kids download 10 games. They play them all for two minutes. They throw away the eight they don't like. Then they play those last two obsessively for a month. That's alien to those of us who buy a $60 game and play it for 40 or 50 hours. The discovery mechanism is completely social, and I don't think you get that genie back in the bottle.
hearing
I started hearing Snapchat in the same context as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. That got me curious.
creating energy game games industry point sequels touch video
We are at a point in the video game industry that the industry is hollowed out. It is out of touch with the zeitgeist, creating sequels and formulaic games over and over again. The energy comes from the indies.
cheaper myth paid version winds
There's a myth that free-to-play is cheaper than a $60 game. It's just elastic. For some users, it winds up being a lot more expensive. I would have paid $150 a year to get a better version of FIFA.
companies convinced costs larger mobile open platform publishers
Companies with aspirations to be larger publishers - Kabam, Kixeye, even Zynga - are moving aggressively off the Facebook platform to mobile and the open Web. Publishers aren't convinced that the costs of being on Facebook are worth it.
benchmark fortune good mobile ramp reminded
Snapchat's ramp reminded us of another mobile app Benchmark had the good fortune to back at an early stage: Instagram.
store
I really think the app store is kind of the killer app for Apple and for Google.